Scandinavia Under the Magnifying Glass

Magdalena Kempna-Pieniążek

Abstract

The book Od Ibsena do Aho [From Ibsen to Aho] (ed. T. Szczepański, L. Sokół; 2015) is one of the most ambitious, but also the most difficult undertakings realized within the framework of the interdisciplinary series Literatura na ekranie [Literature on the Screen]. The authors of the volume present a wide spectrum of interpretations of both literary works and their film versions. Through the prism of individual screen adaptations, they see the various problems of Scandinavian cultures, with particular emphasis on issues such as the patriarchal family, national identity, human relations with the Absolute, nature and the drama of human existence. Articles, which in their vivid style, deviate from the usually standard of writing on film adaptation are worthy of interest. One of the advantages of the volume is its interdisciplinarity, but the comparative method used by many authors, based on listing the differences between the literary original and the screen adaptation, does not always bring the expected results.